Contactless internal measurement device, contactless internal measurement method, and internal measurement result display system

ABSTRACT

Provided is a contactless internal measurement device including an electromagnetic wave irradiation unit that irradiates an electromagnetic wave to a measurement subject, and an electromagnetic wave receiver that detects the electromagnetic wave reflected by the measurement subject. The electromagnetic wave irradiation unit is disposed to reduce a polarization component of the electromagnetic wave detected by the electromagnetic wave receiver, the polarization component being the same as a polarization component of the electromagnetic wave irradiated by the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/753,299, filed Oct. 4, 2018, which is the U.S. National Phase under35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No.PCT/JP2018/037281, filed on Oct. 4, 2018, which in turn claims thebenefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-195240, filed on Oct. 5,2017, the entire disclosures of which applications are incorporated byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a contactless internal measurementdevice, a contactless internal measurement method, and an internalmeasurement result display system.

BACKGROUND ART

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-53528 (Patent Literature 1) disclosesthe background art in the technical field of the present invention.Patent Literature 1 discloses the object to provide “a method ofmeasuring a water content of stratum corneum using terahertz waves”, andthe solution as “the method of measuring a water content of the stratumcorneum according to the present invention includes a process step thatbrings a skin surface into contact with a prism surface as a terahertzwave emitting surface, and radiates the terahertz waves with thefrequency, preferably, equal to or higher than 0.1 THz, and equal to orlower than 3.0 THz to obtain the absorption coefficient using the prismwith the refractive index of 2.0 or larger, preferably, 2.5 or larger,and more preferably, 3.0 or larger”.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-19016 (Patent Literature 2) disclosesthat “the invention relates to a skin condition measuring method, andmore particularly, to the method of measuring the skin corneum conditionsuitable for estimating lesion of the skin corneum, and effect ofapplication of cream from the moisture content of the skin corneum.”,and further discloses that “An object of the present invention is toprovide a skin corneum condition measurement method capable of measuringthe skin corneum loss (inductance) using high frequency”.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-53528-   PTL 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. S63-19016

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

A human skin serves not only to adjust the vital environment andtemperature by cutaneous respiration and sweating but also to protectthe biological tissue from the external stimulation (foreign substance,bacteria, microbes). It is therefore important to acquire theinformation on water content in the skin from aspects of healthmaintenance of heat stroke prevention, and dry skin prevention owing toatopic dermatitis, as well as evaluation of cosmetics and pharmaceuticalproduct, and practical view about the beauty cosmetic article. It isimportant to observe the daily change in skin by monitoring watercontained inside the skin, and skin condition (fineness of skin texture)in view of the above-described aspects.

In the method disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the prism is broughtinto contact with the measurement subject to allow measurement of theskin moisture content. Upon contact of the prism with the skin (inmeasurement), there is a possibility of damaging the skin surface. Themethod as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 cannot measure the conditionother than the water content of the stratum corneum.

In the method disclosed in Patent Literature 2, the water content of thestratum corneum is measured focusing on electrical properties of theskin. Therefore, depending on the skin surface condition (for example,in the state where the cosmetic is applied), the flow of electricalcurrent may be blocked or accelerated. The method cannot necessarilyprovide the accurate measurement value of the stratum corneum of theskin, which only reflects the water content.

That is, in order to measure the internal condition of the measurementsubject using the generally employed technology, the measurement incontact with the measurement subject is required. In such a case, thesurface of the measurement subject may be influenced and damaged. Uponmeasurement by utilizing the electrical properties, the surfacecondition of the measurement subject may hinder the measurement valuefrom being accurate.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a contactlessinternal measurement device that allows accurate contactless measurementof the internal condition of the measurement subject without influencingthe surface state.

Solution to Problem

The present invention relates to a contactless internal measurementdevice which includes an electromagnetic wave irradiation unit thatirradiates an electromagnetic wave to a measurement subject, and anelectromagnetic wave receiver that detects the electromagnetic wavereflected by the measurement subject. The electromagnetic waveirradiation unit is disposed to reduce a polarization component of theelectromagnetic wave detected by the electromagnetic wave receiver, thepolarization component being the same as a polarization component of theelectromagnetic wave irradiated by the electromagnetic wave irradiationunit.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The present invention is capable of accurately measuring the internalcondition of the measurement subject in the contactless manner under noinfluence on the surface condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a structure of a contactless internalmeasurement device according to a first embodiment for observing theinside of the measurement subject.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a relation between an incident angle ofp-polarized wave and a detection signal amplitude according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an internal structure of a radiotransmitter according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an internal structure of a receiveraccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a schematic view showing an example of the receiverconstituted by one light receiver element according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 5B is a schematic view showing an example of the receiverconstituted by a plurality of light receiver elements according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a schematic view of the measurement subject of the firstembodiment.

FIG. 6B is a schematic view showing a propagation process of theelectromagnetic wave in the measurement subject of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representing an operation of electromagnetic waveintensity measurement to be performed by a contactless internalmeasurement device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a schematic view showing an inside of a measurement subjectof a second embodiment.

FIG. 8B is a schematic view showing a propagation process of theelectromagnetic wave in the measurement subject of the secondembodiment.

FIG. 9A is a schematic view showing an exemplary structure of a radiodetector according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9B is a schematic view showing another exemplary structure of theradio detector according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representing an operation for measuringelectromagnetic wave intensity and polarization of the inside of themeasurement subject using the contactless measurement device accordingto the second embodiment.

FIG. 11A is a schematic view showing the measurement subject having amultilayer membrane structure according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11B is a schematic view showing a propagation process of theelectromagnetic wave in the measurement subject having the multilayermembrane structure according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing a usage example of a skininformation acquisition terminal according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13A is a schematic view showing a layout example of a radiotransmitter, a receiver and an image pickup unit on the skin informationacquisition terminal according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13B is a schematic view showing a display unit of the skininformation acquisition terminal according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing an exemplary function structure ofthe skin information acquisition terminal according to the thirdembodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart representing an example of an operation formeasuring the electromagnetic wave intensity and the polarization,performed by the skin information acquisition terminal according to thethird embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing another exemplary function structureof the skin information acquisition terminal according to the thirdembodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart representing another exemplary operation formeasuring the electromagnetic wave intensity and the polarization usingthe skin information acquisition terminal according to the thirdembodiment.

FIG. 18A is a schematic view showing another usage example of the skininformation acquisition terminal according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 18B is a schematic view showing another layout example of the radiotransmitter, the receiver, and the image pickup unit on the skininformation acquisition terminal according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of another exemplary structure of thecontactless internal measurement device according to a fourth embodimentfor observing the inside of the measurement subject.

FIG. 20A is a schematic view of a measurement position which isdisplaced to a far side upon correction of the measurement position whenmeasuring the electromagnetic wave intensity and the polarization usingthe skin information acquisition terminal according to the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 20B is a schematic view of the measurement position which isdisplaced to a near side upon correction of the measurement positionwhen measuring the electromagnetic wave intensity and the polarizationusing the skin information acquisition terminal according to the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart representing an operation for measuring theelectromagnetic wave intensity and the polarization using the skininformation acquisition terminal according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a schematic view showing a usage example of an expirationanalysis terminal according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 23A is a schematic view showing a layout example of a radiotransmitter, a receiver, and an image pickup unit on the expirationanalysis terminal according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 23B is a schematic view showing a display unit disposed on theexpiration analysis terminal according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a schematic view showing an exemplary structure of theexpiration measurement terminal according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a schematic view showing an exemplary function structure ofthe expiration analysis terminal according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart representing an expiration measurement using theexpiration analysis terminal according to the fifth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of a contactless internal measurement device according tothe present invention will be described referring to the drawings. Thecontactless internal measurement device according to the presentinvention is configured to accurately measure the internal condition ofthe measurement subject in a contactless manner using electromagneticwaves in the frequency band permeating through the applied makeup,clothing, and plastics. The measurement subject to be measured using thecontactless internal measurement device is a human body, for example.The frequency band of the electromagnetic waves used for the contactlessinternal measurement device is equal to or higher than 10 GHz, and equalto or lower than 30 THz. The contactless internal measurement deviceaccording to the present invention is capable of measuring the internalcondition of the skin of the human body as the measurement subject inthe contactless manner without influencing the skin surface. Thecontactless internal measurement device according to the presentinvention allows accurate internal measurement even if the makeup isapplied to the skin while suppressing the influence of the surfacecondition to the measurement result. The contactless internalmeasurement device according to the present invention is capable ofmeasuring the water content inside the skin, and the rough skincondition while avoiding the influence on the skin surface.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure of a first embodiment of acontactless internal measurement device according to the presentinvention. As FIG. 1 shows, a measurement device 100 of the embodimentincludes a radio transmitter 2 as an electromagnetic wave irradiationunit that emits the electromagnetic wave to irradiate a measurementsubject 1, a receiver 3 as an electromagnetic wave receiver that detectsthe electromagnetic wave reflected by the measurement subject 1, a maincontroller 4 that controls various operations of the radio transmitter 2and the receiver 3, and a signal processor 5 that processes the signalof the electromagnetic wave received by the receiver 3.

The measurement subject 1 has its internal condition as the region to bemeasured. In the embodiment, the thickness of the measurement subject isset to “d”, and the human skin is exemplified as the measurementsubject.

The electromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2 is in thefrequency band equal to or higher than 10 GHz, and equal to or lowerthan 30 THz, for example. The electromagnetic wave at frequency in suchrange is likely to be absorbed by the internal component of themeasurement subject 1. Accordingly, even in the case where the clothing,plastic, makeup or the like intervenes between the radio transmitter 2and the surface of the measurement subject 1, the electromagnetic waveemitted from the radio transmitter 2 is irradiated to the surface of themeasurement subject 1 to reach the inside thereof. An incident angle θof the electromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2 to themeasurement subject 1 is adjusted to become the Brewster angle to bedescribed later. As FIG. 1 shows, in the following description, theelectromagnetic wave will be indicated by a dashed arrow.

The receiver 3 has a function for detecting the electromagnetic wavereflected from the measurement subject 1. The detection result such asthe electromagnetic wave intensity detected by the receiver 3 isnotified to the signal processor 5.

The main controller 4 controls operations of the radio transmitter 2 toemit the electromagnetic wave to the measurement subject 1. The maincontroller 4 controls the operation of the receiver 3 to detect theelectromagnetic wave reflected by the measurement object 1. Based on theintensity of the electromagnetic wave detected by the receiver 3, themain controller 4 controls the operation of the signal processor 5 tocalculate the measurement result.

Based on the information on the electromagnetic wave intensity detectedby the receiver 3, the signal processor 5 calculates the measurementvalue relevant to the internal condition of the measurement subject 1under the control of the main controller 4. Each of the main controller4 and the signal processor 5 may be constituted by a circuit, an MPU(micro processor unit), a CPU (central processor unit), and a circuitthat implements functions of the main controller 4 and the signalprocessor 5, respectively.

The electromagnetic wave irradiated to the measurement subject 1 is theelectromagnetic wave of the p-polarized wave (or p-polarized light).When the incident angle θ to the boundary surface with differentrefractive index becomes a predetermined angle, the reflectance of theelectromagnetic wave of the p-polarized wave becomes substantially zero.The angle at which the reflectance becomes substantially zero is definedas the “Brewster angle”.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary graph having an x-axis as the incident angle θ ofthe electromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2, andradiated to the measurement subject 1, and a y-axis as an amplitude of areception (detection) signal of the electromagnetic wave reflected fromthe surface of the measurement subject 1, and received by the receiver3. Since the electromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2is the one of p-polarized wave (or p-polarized light), the incidentangle θ exists on the surface of the measurement subject 1 (boundarysurface with different refractive index, as the graph in FIG. 3 shows,at which the reflectance of the p-polarized wave becomes substantiallyzero. Such angle is defined as the “Brewster angle”.

The measurement device 100 is configured to adjust the position of theradio transmitter 2 so that the incident angle θ of the electromagneticwave emitted from the radio transmitter 2, and radiated to themeasurement subject 1 becomes the “value near the Brewster angle”. The“value near the Brewster angle” refers to the value in a range of ±10°(60° to 80°) assuming that the Brewster angle is 70°. In the embodimentaccording to the present invention, the measurement device 100 isconfigured to adjust the positions of the radio transmitter 2 and thereceiver 3 so that the incident angle θ of the electromagnetic waveirradiated to the measurement subject 1 is near the Brewster angle. Theelectromagnetic wave (p-polarized wave) emitted by the radio transmitter2 of the measurement device 100 propagates inward in the state where thesurface reflection of the measurement subject 1 hardly occurs, and isreflected on the boundary surface of the measurement subject 1, whichhas the thickness of d. The receiver 3 receives the reflectingelectromagnetic wave to be subjected to the signal processing so thatthe measurement value that reflects the internal condition of themeasurement subject 1 is obtained. The measurement device 100 isconfigured to dispose the electromagnetic generation unit 2 so that theincident angle θ of the electromagnetic wave from the radio transmitter2 to the measurement subject 1 becomes the Brewster angle. It istherefore preferable to execute sensing of the inside of the measurementsubject 1.

In order to receive the electromagnetic wave that has been propagatingin the measurement subject 1, and reflecting, the receiver 3 is disposedso that the angle that refracts on the surface of the measurementsubject 1 is near the Brewster angle.

The intensity of the electromagnetic wave emitted by the radiotransmitter 2 is designated as an emission electromagnetic waveintensity I_(in), and a coefficient at which the electromagnetic wave isabsorbed and attenuated by the internal component of the measurementsubject 1 is designated as an absorption coefficient α₀. In this case, areflection electromagnetic wave intensity I₀ reflected from the insideof the measurement subject 1 with thickness of d may be derived from aformula 1 as follows.

[formula 1]

I ₀ =I _(in)×exp(−2α₀ ·d)  (formula 1)

The measurement device 100 is intended to measure the absorptioncoefficient α₀ of the measurement subject 1. In the formula 1, thethickness d of the measurement subject 1 is not necessarily known.Therefore, it is not possible to calculate the absorption coefficient α₀based on the electromagnetic wave intensity unless the thickness d ofthe measurement subject 1 is specified. However, when observing thechange in the monitored condition of the measurement subject 1 (ortime), the thickness d of the measurement subject 1 may be regarded as afixed value that is kept unchanged. Even when monitoring the differentmeasurement subject 1, it may be handled in the similar manner to thecase where the thickness d of the measurement subject 1 is keptunchanged by setting the time change rate of the measurement value andthe deviation of the measurement value for each measurement time throughpreliminary management of the measurement subject. Regarding the “α₀·d”as the new term “α′”, the formula 1 may be modified into a formula 2 asbelow.

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{formula}2} \right\rbrack &  \\{\alpha^{\prime} = {{\alpha_{0} \cdot d} = {{- \frac{1}{2}} \times 10\ln\left( \frac{I_{o}}{I_{in}} \right)}}} & \left( {{formula}2} \right)\end{matrix}$

Referring to the formula 2, measurement of the emission electromagneticwave intensity I_(in) of the electromagnetic wave emitted from the radiotransmitter 2, and the reflection electromagnetic wave intensity I_(o)of the electromagnetic wave received by the receiver 3 allowscalculation of the absorption coefficient α₀ of the measurement subject1 readily as an absorption coefficient α′. The measurement device 100 isoperated to calculate the absorption coefficient α′ so that thecontactless measurement of the internal condition of the measurementsubject 1 is executable.

The internal structure of the radio transmitter 2 of the measurementdevice 100 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 3is a view showing an example of an internal structure of the radiotransmitter 2. As FIG. 3 shows, an electromagnetic wave generator 7 andat least one lens 8 are provided in the radio transmitter 2. Theelectromagnetic wave generator 7 emits and stops emission of theelectromagnetic wave at a predetermined frequency under the control ofthe main controller 4. It is possible to use, for example, a Gunn diode,an IMPATT diode, a TUNNETT diode, a resonant tunnel diode, and the likefor the electromagnetic wave generator 7.

The lens 8 is formed so that the electromagnetic wave emitted from theelectromagnetic wave generator 7 has the beam waist radius of ω₀. Sincethe measurement device 100 is not in contact with the measurementsubject 1, there is a possibility that the distance between the radiotransmitter 2 and the surface of the measurement subject 1 during themeasurement is instable. It is therefore necessary to prevent unevennessin the measurement value under the influence of instability. Assumingthat the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave emitted from theelectromagnetic wave generator 7 is λ, a region Z_(R) that can beregarded as substantially parallel electromagnetic wave is expressed bya formula 3 below.

$\begin{matrix}\left\lbrack {{formula}3} \right\rbrack &  \\{Z_{R} = \frac{\pi\omega_{0}^{2}}{\lambda}} & \left( {{formula}3} \right)\end{matrix}$

As the formula 3 clearly shows, the electromagnetic wave irradiated tothe measurement subject 1 scatters in square relation with (square of)the beam waist radius ω₀ of the electromagnetic wave emitted from theelectromagnetic wave generator 7. The sensitivity of the measurementresult to the displacement of the distance may be reduced for copingwith the variable distance displacement between the measurement device100 and the measurement subject 1 for each measurement. Theabove-described problem may be solved by making the beam waist radius ω₀large to a certain extent.

Assuming that the beam waist is set to 1 cm, and the frequency of theelectromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2 is set to 0.1THz (100 GHz), the region Z_(R) becomes 10.5 cm from the formula 3. Inthis case, the electromagnetic wave in the range of 10.5 cm from themeasurement surface of the measurement subject 1 may be regarded assubstantially parallel electromagnetic wave. Accordingly, the distancebetween the measurement device 100 and the surface of the measurementsubject 1 may be 10.5 cm or smaller. When executing the measurementwhile holding the portable measurement device 100 to keep the distancefrom the measurement subject 1 within 10.5 cm or smaller, the device maybe used in the range where the irradiated electromagnetic wave isregarded as being parallel. When measuring the skin condition whilehaving the measurement device 100 held by the hand, it is possible toreduce the sensitivity of the measurement result to the distancedisplacement in the focusing direction caused by the hand shake.

An internal structure of the receiver 3 of the measurement device 100according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a view showingan example of the internal structure of the receiver 3. As FIG. 4 shows,the receiver 3 includes a radio detector 9 and a lens 10. The radiodetector 9 receives and stops reception of the electromagnetic waveunder the control of the main controller 4. The lens 10 serves tocondense the electromagnetic wave on the surface of the radio detector9. It is possible to use, for example, a Schottky barrier diode, aresonant tunnel diode, a high mobility transistor (HEMT), a heterobarrier diode, a carbon nanotube, and the like for the radio detector 9.

An example of the internal structure of the radio detector 9 accordingto the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5A shows an example thatthe radio detector 9 according to the first embodiment is constituted byone receiver element 90. FIG. 5B shows an example that the radiodetector 9 according to the first embodiment is constituted by aplurality of receiver elements 90. Each two-dotted chain line arrow Ashown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is exemplified as a polarizing direction of theelectromagnetic wave that can be received by the receiver element 90.Similarly, each dotted chain line arrow B is exemplified as apolarization direction of the electromagnetic wave that has been emittedfrom the radio transmitter 2.

Referring to an example of the structure of FIG. 5A, when theelectromagnetic wave formed to have the beam waist radius of ω₀ isreflected by the measurement subject 1, and received by the radiodetector 9, the detection signal is derived from the single receiverelement 90 to the beam waist radius ω₀′. Referring to an example of thestructure of FIG. 5B, detection signals of the plurality of planarlyarranged receiver elements 90 to the beam waist radius ω₀′ are added byan adder 91 so that the detection signal equivalent to the total of therespective detection signals is obtained. The radio detector 9 serves asan electromagnetic wave detector.

As described using the formula 3, the resolution measurable by themeasurement device 100 is determined by the wavelength λ of theelectromagnetic wave emitted by the radio transmitter 2. If the radiodetector 9 is small for the beam waist radius ω₀′, the receiver element90 is disposed inside the beam waist radius ω₀′ on the reception surfacefor receiving the electromagnetic wave.

As FIG. 5B shows, the radio detector 9 may be constituted by arranging aplurality of receiver elements 90 on the electromagnetic wave receptionsurface. Each of the receiver elements 90 is disposed inside the circlewith the diameter equivalent to the beam waist (2ω₀′). The detectionsignal may be derived from summing the detection signals of therespective receiver elements 90. This makes it possible to enlarge theelectromagnetic wave reception area to improve the signal component ofthe signal to noise ratio.

FIG. 6A schematically shows an example of the measurement subject 1.FIG. 6B schematically shows an example of the propagation process of theelectromagnetic wave inside the measurement subject 1 in more detail. Inthis case, the refractive index of the measurement subject 1 isdesignated as “n₁”, and a double refractive index of the measurementsubject 1 is designated as “n₂”.

As FIG. 6A shows, the electromagnetic wave reflected by the interface(interface between the refractive index n₁ and the double refractiveindex n₂) at the incident surface side of the measurement subject 1 hasa reflection electromagnetic wave intensity I_(o1) and a reflectionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(o2). As FIG. 6B shows, the reflectionelectromagnetic intensity I_(o1) refers to the intensity of theelectromagnetic wave reflected by the interface between the refractiveindex n₁ and the double refractive index n₂. The reflectionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(o2) refers to the intensity of theelectromagnetic wave that has been permeating through the interface withthe refractive index n₁, propagating inside the measurement subject 1,and reflected by the interface (interface between the double refractiveindex n₂ and the refractive index n₁) of the measurement subject 1 atthe back surface side. The measurement subject 1 has the thickness “d”.

Assuming that the incident angle θ is the Brewster angle, the reflectionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(o1) upon reflection by the surface ofthe measurement subject 1 may be regarded as substantially zero. Thatis, the electromagnetic wave to be received by the receiver 3 may beregarded to have the intensity (reflection electromagnetic waveintensity I_(o2) of the scattered electromagnetic wave absorbed andscattered inside the measurement subject 1. Accordingly, the arithmeticoperation is executed based on the formula 2 to calculate the absorptioncoefficient α′ of the measurement subject 1. Based on the absorptioncoefficient α′, the internal condition of the measurement subject 1 maybe measured.

The operation flow of the measurement device 100 will be describedreferring to the flowchart of FIG. 7 . The flowchart to be described inthe specification represents an embodiment of the contactless internalmeasurement method according to the present invention. The respectiveprocess steps according to the embodiment are implemented by the maincontroller 4 of the measurement device 100 that executes the computerprogram utilizing hardware resources.

The main controller 4 executes a frequency set step to allow theelectromagnetic wave generator 7 to generate the electromagnetic wave ata predetermined frequency (S701). The frequency suitable for theinternal measurement varies depending on the difference in the internalcomponent of the measurement subject 1. Accordingly, the frequencysuitable for the measurement of the internal component of themeasurement subject 1 may be arbitrarily set.

The main controller 4 executes an electromagnetic wave irradiation startstep to allow the radio transmitter 2 to irradiate the measurementsubject 1 with the electromagnetic wave with predetermined intensity atthe predetermined frequency (S702). In S702, the radio transmitter 2emits the electromagnetic wave with the emission electromagnetic waveintensity I_(in).

The main controller 4 executes an electromagnetic wave reception startstep to allow the receiver 3 to start reception of the electromagneticwave (S703). In S703, the plurality of radio detectors 9 receive theelectromagnetic wave reflected from the measurement subject 1 to acquirethe detection signal equivalent to the sum of the reflectionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(o1) and the reflection electromagneticwave intensity I_(o2).

Using the total sum of the detection signals calculated by the receiver3 and the emission electromagnetic wave intensity I_(in) of theelectromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2, the signalprocessor 5 executes an absorption coefficient calculation step thatcalculates the absorption coefficient α′ of the measurement subject 1(S704).

Execution of the above-described process steps allows measurement of thevalue indicating the internal condition of the measurement subject 1using the measurement device 100 at a certain time. For example, ifwater constitutes the inside of the measurement subject 1, theabsorption coefficient α′ has no peak even when irradiating theelectromagnetic wave at an arbitrary frequency in the range equal to orhigher than 10 GHz, and equal to or lower than 30 THz. That is, if waterconstitutes the inside of the measurement subject 1, the arbitraryfrequency has the broad spectrum in the frequency band from 10 GHz orhigher to 30 THz or lower. Therefore, the water content may be detectedat any frequency to be set in S701 in the above-described range. In thiscase, compared with the past measurement values, it is preferable to setthe same frequency as the one in the past case. Assuming that the pastmeasurement result is stored in the main controller 4, the change in thewater content may be calculated after execution of S704.

Assuming that water vapor constitutes the inside of the measurementsubject 1, the absorption coefficient α′ has the peak depending on thefrequency of the electromagnetic wave. Specifically, it is known thatthe absorption coefficient α′ has the peak at the frequency of 0.56 THzor 0.75 Hz. Accordingly, in the case where it is preliminarily knownthat the water vapor constitutes the inside of the measurement subject1, the frequency may be set to 0.56 THz or 0.75 Hz as the frequency tobe set for the electromagnetic wave generator 7 under the control of themain controller 4 in S701.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment as describedabove, but includes various modifications. For example, the embodimentis described in detail for readily understanding of the presentinvention which is not necessarily limited to the one equipped with allstructures as described above. It is possible to replace a part of thestructure of one embodiment with the structure of another embodiment.The one embodiment may be provided with an additional structure ofanother embodiment. It is further possible to add, remove, and replaceanother structure to, from and with a part of the structure of therespective embodiments. In the embodiment, the refractive index insidethe measurement subject 1 is exemplified as the double refractive indexn₂. The refractive index with no absorption coefficient may be appliedto the similar structure. It is possible to generate the p-polarizedwave using the polarization element (filter and the like) as thepolarized wave of the electromagnetic wave irradiated from the radiotransmitter 2 to the measurement subject 1.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the contactless internal measurement deviceaccording to the present invention will be described. This embodiment isdifferent from the above-described first embodiment in that the radiodetector 9 has a structure capable of acquiring the polarized wave (orpolarized light) information relating to the polarization component inat least two directions including the polarization direction(perpendicular direction) perpendicular to the polarization direction ofthe electromagnetic wave irradiated to the measurement subject 1. Otherstructures are similar to those of the first embodiment. In thisembodiment, the difference from the first embodiment will be described.In this embodiment, the p-polarized wave as the electromagnetic wave isirradiated from the radio transmitter 2 to the measurement subject 1.

FIG. 8A schematically shows an example of the measurement subject 1according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8B schematically shows thepropagation process of the electromagnetic wave inside the measurementsubject 1 in more detail in consideration of the polarized wave(polarized light) direction. As FIGS. 8A and 8B show, the refractiveindex of the measurement subject 1 is designated as “n₁”, and the doublerefractive index of the measurement subject 1 is designated as “n₂”. InFIG. 8 , the polarization direction of the electromagnetic wave isclearly indicated by a dotted chain line arrow.

Focusing on each polarization component of the electromagnetic waveswith the reflection electromagnetic wave intensities I_(o1) and I′_(o2),the p-polarized wave is kept in the polarization component of thereflection electromagnetic wave intensity I_(o1). Meanwhile, thepolarization component of the reflection electromagnetic wave intensityI′_(o2) is changed by the propagation inside the measurement subject 1with the double refractive index. In the structure as described in thefirst embodiment, if the incident angle θ of the electromagnetic wave tobe irradiated deviates from the Brewster angle, the reflectionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(o1) is detected by the receiver 3. Therobustness to the “deviation” from the Brewster angle may be improved bydetecting the polarized wave (p-polarized wave) of the electromagneticwave with reflection electromagnetic wave intensity I₀₁ reflected by thesurface of the measurement subject 1, and the change in the polarizedwave owing to the internal component using the polarization componentinformation. The detection as described above allows extraction only ofthe detection signal derived from the reflection electromagnetic waveintensity I′_(o2) independent of the reflection electromagnetic waveintensity I_(o1).

The internal structure of the radio detector 9 that allows themeasurement according to the embodiment will be described referring toFIG. 9 . FIG. 9A shows an example of the radio detector 9 constituted bya plurality of planarly arranged receiver elements 90. FIG. 9B showsanother example of the radio detector 9 constituted by the plurality ofplanarly arranged receiver elements 90. Each two-dotted chain line arrowA shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B is exemplified as a polarization direction ofthe electromagnetic wave that can be received by the receiver element90. Similarly, each dotted chain line arrow B is exemplified as apolarization direction of the electromagnetic wave that has been emittedfrom the radio transmitter 2.

Referring to the structure shown in FIG. 9A, the receiver elements 90are disposed to detect the electromagnetic wave with the samepolarization as that of the electromagnetic wave emitted from the radiotransmitter 2, and the electromagnetic wave turned at 90° to thepolarization. Referring to the structure shown in FIG. 9B, the receiverelements 90 are disposed to detect the electromagnetic wave with thesame polarization as that of the electromagnetic wave emitted from theradio transmitter 2, the electromagnetic wave turned at 90° to thepolarization, and the electromagnetic wave turned at ±45° to thepolarization. In the example as shown in FIG. 9B, the receiver elements90 are radially arranged.

The radio detector 9 as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B includes an adder 91that adds the detection signal from the receiver element 90 in the samepolarization direction. The structure as shown in FIG. 9A includes anadder 91 a and an adder 91 b. The adder 91 a outputs a sum of detectionsignals of five receiver elements 90 for detecting the same polarizationas the electromagnetic wave irradiated from the radio transmitter 2 tothe measurement subject 1. The adder 91 b outputs a sum of the detectionsignals from four receiver elements 90 for detecting the electromagneticwaves turned at 90° to the polarization of the electromagnetic waveirradiated from the radio transmitter 2 to the measurement subject 1.

The radio detector 9 according to the embodiment allows extraction onlyof the detection signal of the reflection electromagnetic wave intensityI′_(o2) independent of the reflection electromagnetic wave intensityI_(o1) using a sum signal 1 output from the adder 91 a and a sum signal2 output from the adder 91 b. In this case, the number of the receiverelements 90 used for detecting the respective polarizations is notlimited to the number as described above, but may be determined so thata specific polarization is only detected from the measurement subject 1.

Referring to the structure as shown in FIG. 9B, the radio detector 9includes adders 91 a, 91 b, 91 c, and 91 d. The adder 91 a outputs thesum signal 1 as the sum of the detection signals of three receiverelements 90 for detecting the same polarization as that of theelectromagnetic wave irradiated from the radio transmitter 2 to themeasurement subject 1. The adders 91 b and 91 c output the sum signal 2and a sum signal 3, respectively each as the sum of the detectionsignals of two receiver elements 90 in the respective directions fordetecting the electromagnetic waves turned at ±45° to the polarizationof the electromagnetic wave irradiated from the radio transmitter 2 tothe measurement subject 1. The adder 91 d outputs a sum signal 4 as asum of the detection signals of two receiver elements 90 for detectingthe electromagnetic waves turned at 90° to the polarization of theelectromagnetic wave irradiated from the radio transmitter 2 to themeasurement subject 1.

The radio detector 9 of the embodiment allows extraction only of thedetection signal of the reflection electromagnetic wave intensityI′_(o2) independent of the reflection electromagnetic intensity I_(o1)using the sum signals 1, 2, 3, 4. In this case, the number of thereceiver elements 90 used for detecting the respective polarizations isnot limited to the number as described above, but may be determined sothat a specific polarization is only detected from the electromagneticwaves reflected from the measurement subject 1. This makes it possibleto measure the p-polarized wave with the reflection electromagnetic waveintensity I_(o1), and the other reflection electromagnetic waveintensity among the signals received by the receiver 3 for eachpolarization.

An operation flow of the measurement device 100 according to theembodiment will be described referring to the flowchart of FIG. 10 . Themain controller 4 executes a frequency set step to allow theelectromagnetic wave generator 7 to generate the electromagnetic wave atthe prescribed frequency (S1001). The frequency suitable for theinternal measurement varies in accordance with the difference in theinternal component of the measurement subject 1. Accordingly, thefrequency suitable for the internal measurement of the internalcomponent of the measurement subject 1 may be arbitrarily set.

The main controller 4 executes an electromagnetic wave irradiation startstep to allow the radio transmitter 2 to irradiate the electromagneticwave with emission electromagnetic wave intensity I_(in) at theprescribed frequency to the measurement subject 1 (S1002).

Then the main controller 4 executes an electromagnetic wave receptionstart step to allow the receiver 3 to start reception of theelectromagnetic wave (S1003). In S1003, based on the intensities(reflection electromagnetic wave intensities I_(o1) and I_(o2)) of theelectromagnetic waves received by the respective radio detectors 9, theabove-described sum signals 1 to 4 are calculated.

A step of calculating reflection electromagnetic wave intensity andpolarization component is executed (S1004) to allow the signal processor5 to calculate the reflection electromagnetic intensity I_(o1) orI′_(o2) of the electromagnetic wave for each polarization from the sumsignal calculated in S1003 to obtain the polarization component for eachpolarization.

Then absorption coefficient calculation step is executed (S1005) toallow the signal processor 5 to calculate the absorption coefficient α′for each polarized light based on the electromagnetic wave intensity foreach polarized light that has been calculated in S1004.

Execution of the above-described steps allows measurement of the valueindicating the internal condition of the measurement subject 1 at aspecific time using the measurement device 100. For example, if water iscontained in the measurement subject 1, when irradiating theelectromagnetic wave at an arbitrary frequency from 10 GHz or higher to30 THz or lower, the absorption coefficient α′ has no peak. If waterconstitutes the inside of the measurement subject 1, an arbitraryfrequency ranging from 10 GHz or higher to 30 THz or lower has the broadspectrum. Accordingly, the frequency may be set to the value in theabove-described range in S1001. In this case, compared with the pastmeasurement value, it is preferable to set the same frequency as the oneused in the past. Assuming that the past measurement result is stored inthe main controller 4, it is possible to measure change in the watercontent, or skin roughness (instable polarization direction) afterexecution of S1005.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments as describedabove, but includes various modifications. For example, the embodimentis described in detail for readily understanding of the presentinvention which is not necessarily limited to the one equipped with allstructures as described above. It is possible to replace a part of thestructure of one embodiment with the structure of another embodiment.The one embodiment may be provided with an additional structure ofanother embodiment. It is further possible to add, remove, and replaceanother structure to, from and with a part of the structure of therespective embodiments. In the embodiment, the refractive index insidethe measurement subject 1 is exemplified as the double refractive indexn₂. The refractive index with no absorption coefficient may be appliedto the similar structure.

In order to improve robustness to the Brewster angle, the receiverelements 90 may be arranged to detect the electromagnetic wave turned at90° to polarization of the electromagnetic wave emitted from the radiotransmitter 2. In this embodiment, the number of the receiver elements90 is set to 9. However, it is not limited to the one as describedabove. A single receiver element 90 may be constituted by a plurality ofradio detectors.

In the first and the second embodiments as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 , acase of the measurement subject 1 having a single layer was exemplified.The measurement device 100 is applicable to a multilayer laminatedstructure as shown in FIG. 11 . As FIG. 11A shows, it is assumed that ameasurement subject 1 a as another example of the measurement subject 1has three layers of a first layer 11 a, a second layer 12 a, and a thirdlayer 13 a. Referring to FIG. 11B, as each refractive index of therespective layers is different, the electromagnetic wave reflects on theboundary surface. That is, the intensity of the reflectionelectromagnetic wave received by the receiver 3 corresponds to a sum ofintensities of the respective reflection electromagnetic wavesreflecting on the boundary surfaces among the respective layers.

For example, the skin has a laminated structure. The skin is constitutedby laminating such layers as a stratum corneum, an epidermis, a derma,and a subcutaneous tissue. The collagen that occupies 70% or more of thederma layer is a fibrous protein, and exhibits double refractionproperty.

If the water content of the stratum corneum is reduced to dry theenvironment (condition) of the inside of the skin, the electromagneticwave is no longer absorbed in water. In such a state, theelectromagnetic wave reaches further inside of the skin compared withthe healthy skin. As a result, the receiver 3 may receive theelectromagnetic wave that contains the polarization varied by the doublerefraction of the collagen that occupies 70% or more of the derma layer.That is, the polarization information may be monitored to allowmonitoring of change in the skin condition.

Meanwhile, when the skin is dried to reduce the absorbed water contentof the stratum corneum so that the electromagnetic wave reaches furtherinside of the skin deeper. Therefore, the thickness d of the measurementsubject 1 is no longer regarded as being uniform. In this case, thepolarization for monitoring water absorption in the stratum corneum isfixed to the specific polarization. Monitoring of the relative change inintensity of the polarization may clarify the change in the watercontent of the stratum corneum.

Third Embodiment

An embodiment of an internal measurement result display system accordingto the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a skininformation acquisition terminal 103 as an example of the internalmeasurement result display system will be described. FIG. 12 shows ausage of the skin information acquisition terminal 103. The skininformation acquisition terminal 103 is a portable information processorhaving a function that measures the internal condition of the skin (skinof the face in FIG. 12 ) of a user 25, and displays the measurementresult. The skin information acquisition terminal 103 is operated in apredetermined contactless manner while being slightly separated from theside surface of the user 25 so that the internal condition of the skinof the user 25 (water content and the skin roughness degree) may bemeasured.

FIG. 13A shows an appearance of the skin information acquisitionterminal 103, showing a layout of a structure at the side facing theuser 25 having the measurement subject 1. FIG. 13B shows a layout of thestructure at the side on which the measurement result is displayed. Theskin information acquisition terminal 103 of the embodiment is anexample having the display side and the sensor side disposed on thedifferent surfaces, respectively.

As FIG. 13A shows, the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 of themeasurement device 100 are disposed on the side facing the measurementsubject. The radio transmitter 2 emits the electromagnetic wave to themeasurement subject, and the receiver 3 receives the electromagneticwave reflected by the measurement subject. As have been explainedbefore, the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 are disposed in thearrangement so that the incident angle θ of the electromagnetic waveemitted from the radio transmitter 2 to the measurement subject 1becomes the value near the Brewster angle, and the reflection wave ofthe electromagnetic wave is received. A lens of an image pickup unit 101as an incorporated camera, and a distance measurement unit 102 aredisposed on the side facing the measurement subject.

As FIG. 13B shows, a display unit (display) 16 is disposed on the sideopposite the surface facing the measurement subject, on which the resultis displayed. Referring to FIG. 13B, the display unit 16 displays aphoto 26 of the measurement subject overlapped with a measurementposition marker 27 indicating the measurement position. The measurementposition marker 27 displays that the measurement is conducted at thesame site as the one for the last measurement.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a function structure of the skin informationacquisition terminal 103 according to the embodiment. Referring to FIG.14 , operations of the skin information acquisition terminal 103 will bedescribed.

The skin information acquisition terminal 103 picks up an image of ameasurement site of the user 25 using the image pickup unit (camera)101, and executes an image analyzing process for analyzing the photo.This makes it possible to display the analysis result such asultraviolet light, dryness, stress, and the like on the display unit 16.The skin information acquisition terminal 103 acquires measurementvalues of water content inside the skin and skin texture (fineness) atthe measurement site by the measurement device 100. The result ofanalyzing the measurement values is displayed on the display unit 16.For display here, as FIG. 13B shows, the photo 26 and judgement results(or notice of dryness, moisturizing amount, variation width) aredisplayed together.

It is possible to use an RGB camera with sensitivity to the visiblelight wavelength, a camera with sensitivity to infrared radiation, anRGB camera with sensitivity to the wavelength from infrared light to thevisible light, and the like for the image pickup unit 101. It ispossible to use an RGB camera with sensitivity to the wavelength fromvisible light to ultraviolet radiation, or from infrared light to theultraviolet light via the visible light for the image pickup unit 101.

The distance measurement unit (distance sensor) 102 measures thedistance between the measurement subject and the skin informationacquisition terminal 103. The measured distance data is stored in a datastorage unit 160. The distance measurement unit 102 allows estimation ofthe position of the skin information acquisition terminal 103 during themeasurement for clarifying that the same position as the last one ismeasured. For example, analyzing the distance information acquired bythe distance measurement unit 102, and the image acquired by the imagepickup unit 101 allows estimation that the measurement subject is at thesame position. When the skin information acquisition terminal 103estimates that the same position is measured, a sound unit 161 to bedescribed later may be used to generate a sound to notify the user 25.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a structure of the skin informationacquisition terminal 103 according to the embodiment. Referring to FIG.14 , the respective units of the skin information acquisition terminal103 will be described along with the conceptual process flow.Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, it is assumed that therespective units constituting the skin information acquisition terminal103 are controlled on the basis of signals from a system control unit 14connected to those units via a system bus 17. As described above, themeasurement device 100 is configured to adjust the arrangement of theradio transmitter 2 for emitting the electromagnetic wave, and thereceiver 3 for receiving the electromagnetic wave reflected from themeasurement subject 1 so that the incident angle θ to the measurementsubject 1 becomes the value near the Brewster angle. In addition to thestructure for adjusting the arrangement as described above, themeasurement device 100 includes the main controller 4 that controls theradio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3, and the signal processor 5 thatprocesses signals of the electromagnetic wave received by the receiver3.

The information for identifying the user 25, and information relating tothe measurement position (face, arm, and the like) is input via an inputunit 40 (for example, touch sensor, button). Thereafter, a measurementinformation acquisition unit 11 acquires the signal processing resultsin the measurement device 100. As expressed by the formula 2, ameasurement value analysis unit 18 calculates the ratio of thereflection intensity from the user 25 as the measurement subject 1. Themeasurement value analysis unit 18 refers to the past data accumulatedin the data storage unit 160, and analyzes change in the skin conditionof the user 25 as the time series data containing the past history inaddition to the measurement value at the specific time. It is possibleto store measurement data of a plurality of users in the data storageunit 160 by adding the numbers identifying the specific users. Themeasurement value analysis unit 18 executes the process for analyzingthe polarization dependence characteristic based on the intensity andthe polarization component of the received electromagnetic wave from thedetection signal of the electromagnetic wave received by the receiver 3of the measurement device 100.

The image pickup unit 101 then picks up an image of the measurement siteof the user 25. An image information acquisition unit 12 acquires thepicked up image. The distance measurement unit 102 measures the distancefrom the measurement site, and a distance information acquisition unit13 acquires the result of the measured distance. Those measurementresults are stored in the data storage unit 160. The display processingunit 15 executes the image analysis process from the picked up photo sothat the display unit 16 displays such information as ultraviolet light,dryness, and stress. The display processing unit 15 allows the displayunit 16 to display the results of analyzing the measurement valuesacquired from the measurement device 100 such as water content in theskin and skin condition (fineness) at the measurement site together withthe photo 26. The content to be displayed on the display unit 16 may bethe value such as the moisturizing amount, the graph of the variationwidth, and a radar view as exemplified in FIG. 13B.

In monitoring for a prolonged period of time, it is preferable tomeasure substantially the same measurement position through alignment.The system control unit 14 specifies the measurement position from theimage results that have been picked up by the image pickup unit 101 lasttime or before, calculates measurement conditions from the result ofdistance measured by the distance measurement unit 102, and estimatesthe measurement position. It is possible to display the estimatedmeasurement position on the display unit 16 like the measurementposition marker 27 as shown in FIG. 13B. In this case, the systemcontrol unit 14 serves as a measurement position estimation unit. Forexample, when using the skin information acquisition terminal 103configured as shown in FIG. 13A, it is impossible for the user 25 toconfirm the display unit 16 of the skin information acquisition terminal103 while picking up the image. In such a case, the sound unit 161 maybe used to notify the information about the difference between theposition indicated by the measurement position marker 27 acquired in thepast and the position currently picked up by the image pickup unit 101by a sound, for example, change in the tone, change in the volume, orthe voice. In this case, the system control unit 14 serves as anarithmetic operation unit that executes the arithmetic operation toprovide the difference between the position indicated by the pastmeasurement position marker 27 and the currently picked up position.Based on the result arithmetically operated by the system control unit14, the processing for obtaining the difference as described above isexecuted to determine the measurement position. The sound unit 161includes an audio processor and a speaker. Referring to FIG. 14 , eachof the measurement information acquisition unit 11, the imageinformation acquisition unit 12, the distance information acquisitionunit 13, the measurement value analysis unit 18, the system control unit14, an audio processor of the sound unit 161, and the display processingunit 15 is formed by the processor and the circuit for constituting theskin information acquisition terminal 103. The data storage unit 160 isformed by the memory constituting the skin information acquisitionterminal 103.

The operation flow of the skin information acquisition terminal 103 willbe described referring to the flowchart of FIG. 15 . The system controlunit 14 controls the input unit 40 to execute an input step in which aninterface for inputting the information relating to the identificationinformation and the measurement site is displayed for the user 25(S1501). For example, in S1501, the input screen is displayed on thedisplay unit 16 to allow the user 25 to input the prescribedinformation.

The system control unit 14 controls the image pickup unit 101 to executean image pickup step that picks up an image of the measurement positionof the user 25 (S1502).

The system control unit 14 then controls the distance measurement unit102 to execute a distance measurement step that measures the distancebetween the measurement position of the user 25 and the skin informationacquisition terminal 103 (S1503).

A distance information acquisition step is executed to allow thedistance information acquisition unit 13 to acquire the measureddistance result (S1504).

In order to calculate the position of the measurement position marker27, a measurement position calculation step is executed for calculatingthe measurement position to the user 25 from results of positions of theradio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 of the skin informationacquisition terminal 103, and the distance obtained in S1504 (S1505). InS1505, it is judged whether or not the calculated measurement positioncoincides with the past measurement position to further execute an audiooutput step that outputs the sound corresponding to the judgement resultusing the sound unit 161. In this case, the judgement result in S1505 issynonymous with the estimation result of the measurement position. Thatis, the processing operation in S1505 is also executed as a measurementposition estimation step.

The electromagnetic wave generator 7 of the radio transmitter 2 iscontrolled by the main controller 4 of the measurement device 100through the system control unit 14 simultaneously with execution of adistance information acquisition step in S1504. Under the control asdescribed above, an electromagnetic wave irradiation step thatirradiates the electromagnetic wave with electromagnetic wave intensityto the user 25, and an electromagnetic wave detection step that acquiresthe intensity of the electromagnetic wave reflected by the user 25 areexecuted (S1506).

The measurement information acquisition unit 11 receives theelectromagnetic wave intensity acquired in S1506 from the signalprocessor 5 so that the system control unit 14 executes an analysis stepthat analyzes the reflection electromagnetic wave intensity informationand the polarization information from the received information. From theacquired information as expressed by the formula 2, the information onthe absorption amount at the specific time and the polarization is addedto execute an absorption amount conversion step for conversion into theabsorption amount for each polarization (S1507). In an analysis stage ofS1507, it is possible to conduct conversion into relative change in thewater content in comparison with the water content as the past datastored in the data storage unit 160.

The measurement position and the analysis result ofintensity/polarization signal derived from S1505 and S1507,respectively, and the image picked up in S1502 are processed by thedisplay processing unit 15 so that a display step is executed fordisplaying the screen as shown in FIG. 13B on the display unit 16(S1508).

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments as describedabove, but includes various modifications. For example, the embodimentis described in detail for readily understanding of the presentinvention which is not necessarily limited to the one equipped with allstructures as described above. It is possible to replace a part of thestructure of one embodiment with the structure of another embodiment.The one embodiment may be provided with an additional structure ofanother embodiment. It is further possible to add, remove, and replaceanother structure to, from and with a part of the structure of therespective embodiments.

For example, when using a monocular camera that allows pickup of thecolor image and the distance image simultaneously, separate functions,for example, the image pickup unit 101 and the distance measurement unit102 may be implemented as a single function. This makes it possible toprovide the compact and low-cost skin information acquisition terminal103. The skin information acquisition terminal 103 is not limited to theterminal to be exclusively used for measuring the skin condition. Forexample, it is possible to employ a compact light source such as aresonant tunnel diode, and a compact detector such as a hetero barrierdiode and a carbon nanotube for the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver3 of the skin information acquisition terminal 103. This makes itpossible to combine such terminal with the mobile phone (smartphone)with various information processing functions.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the structure of the skin informationacquisition terminal 103 according to the embodiment. However, all theanalyzing process steps do not have to be executed by the skininformation acquisition terminal 103. For example, the use of a skininformation acquisition terminal 1031 with a communication unit 19 asshown in FIG. 16 allows an external server 104 to execute thecomplicated analyzing process entirely or partially. When using theexternal server, an information integration unit 23 of the server 104 isadded for execution of the integration process in S1508 so that theprocessing load to the display processing unit 15 is reduced. The effectfor improving the frame rate of the display unit 16 may be expected.

As FIG. 16 shows, the skin information acquisition terminal 1031associated with the server 104 includes the communication unit 19 fordata communication with the server 104, and does not include themeasurement value analysis unit 18. The function corresponding to themeasurement value analysis unit 18 is disposed in the server 104. Theserver 104 includes an image information analysis unit 21, an imagediagnosis unit 22, the information integration unit 23, and acommunication unit 20 in addition to the measurement value analysis unit18. The measurement value analysis unit 18, the image informationanalysis unit 21, the image diagnosis unit 22, and the informationintegration unit 23 are formed by computers such as CPU and circuitconstituting the server 104. The communication units 19, 20 areconstituted by network communication systems including hardware, forexample, Wifi (registered trademark), communication connector such as8P8C modular connector.

The image information analysis unit 21 analyzes the image (image of themeasurement subject 1) acquired by the image information acquisitionunit 12, and outputs the analysis result.

The image diagnosis unit 22 diagnoses the image acquired from the imageinformation acquisition unit 12 based on the output from the imageinformation analysis unit 21.

The information integration unit 23 outputs information integrated fordisplay on the display unit 16 using the diagnosis result derived fromthe image diagnosis unit 22 and the analysis result derived from themeasurement value analysis unit 18.

The operation flow of the skin information acquisition terminal 1031will be described referring to the flowchart of FIG. 17 . The systemcontrol unit 14 controls the input unit 40 to execute an input step toprovide the user 25 with the interface through which the identificationinformation and the information relating to the measurement site isinput (S1701). For example, an input screen is displayed on the displayunit 16 in S1701 to allow the user 25 to input the prescribedinformation.

Then the system control unit 14 controls the image pickup unit 101 toexecute an image pickup step that picks up an image of the measurementposition of the user 25 (S1702).

The system control unit 14 controls the distance measurement unit 102 toexecute a distance measurement step that measures the distance betweenthe measurement position of the user 25 and the skin informationacquisition terminal 1031 (S1703).

A distance information acquisition step is executed to allow thedistance information acquisition unit 13 to acquire the measureddistance result (S1704).

A measurement position calculation step is executed for calculating themeasurement position of the user 25 from the positions of the radiotransmitter 2 and the receiver 3 of the skin information acquisitionterminal 1031, and the result of distance obtained in S1704 (S1705).

The electromagnetic generator 7 of the electromagnetic generation unit 2is controlled by the main controller 4 through the system control unit14 to irradiate the electromagnetic wave with emission electromagneticwave intensity I_(in) to the user 25 simultaneously with execution ofthe distance information acquisition step in S1704. A measurementinformation acquisition step is executed to acquire the reflectionelectromagnetic wave intensity information and the polarizationinformation owing to reflection of the irradiated electromagnetic wavewith emission electromagnetic wave intensity I_(in) from the user 25(S1706).

A server output step is executed for outputting the image picked up inS1702, the arithmetically operated result of the measurement position inS1705, and the reflection electromagnetic wave intensity information andthe polarization information obtained in S1706 to the server 104 via thecommunication unit 19 (S1707). Thereafter, the absorption amount at thespecific time is calculated from the acquired information as expressedby the formula 2 and the polarization information is added so that anabsorption amount conversion step is executed for conversion into theabsorption amount for each polarization (S1708). In S1707, upon outputof data to the server 104 via the communication unit 19, the conversioninto the relative change in the water content in the analysis stage inS1708 may be conducted referring to data stored in the data storage unit160 partially or entirely.

An information integration step that integrates the information fordisplay is executed so that the measurement position, the analysisresult of the intensity/polarization signal, and the image picked up inS1702 are displayed by the server 104 as illustrated in FIG. 13B(S1709).

A transmission step is executed for transmitting the display informationthat has been integrated in S1709 from the server 104 to thecommunication unit 19 (S1710). Finally, a display step is executed fordisplaying the result of the integrated information processed in thedisplay processing unit on the display unit 16 (S1711).

The skin information acquisition terminal 103 as exemplified in FIG. 13has the image pickup unit 101 and the display unit 16 disposed onopposite surfaces, respectively rather than on the same surface. Withthe above-structured terminal, the user 25 who is operating the imagepickup unit 101 cannot perform such operation as alignment of themeasurement position while viewing the display unit 16. As FIGS. 18A and18B show, the image pickup unit 101 and the display unit 16 may bedisposed on the same surface. The skin information acquisition terminal103 structured as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B allows the user 25 toadjust the measurement position while viewing the display unit 16,resulting in improved convenience.

The skin information acquisition terminal 103 may be configured to allowthe user to confirm the display content on the display unit 16 whileperforming the image pickup operation, and allow the sound unit 161 tooutput sounds for notifying the difference between the measurementposition marker 27 and the current position having its image picked upby the image pickup unit 101. In the case of deviation between theuser's sense and the measurement value, the desired measurement widthmay be set by the user.

Fourth Embodiment

Another embodiment of the contactless internal measurement deviceaccording to the present invention will be described. FIG. 19 is a viewshowing a structure of a measurement device 100 a according to theembodiment. The measurement device 100 a according to the embodiment hasthe similar structure to that of the measurement device 100 according tothe first embodiment as described above, including the radio transmitter2, the receiver 3, the main controller 4, and the signal processor 5.Characteristics of the structures and the arrangement condition are thesame as those of the first embodiment, and detailed explanationsthereof, thus will be omitted.

The measurement device 100 a according to this embodiment furtherincludes the image pickup unit 101, the image information acquisitionunit 12, the distance measurement unit 102, the distance informationacquisition unit 13, and the data storage unit 160. The structures aredesignated with the same codes as those of the structures of the skininformation acquisition terminal 103 of the third embodiment, and havethe same functions. When using the monocular camera capable of acquiringthe color image and the distance image simultaneously for the imagepickup unit 101, the image pickup unit 101 and the distance measurementunit 102 do not have to be installed as individual structures.

For example, a photo of the measurement site of the user 25 is picked upby the image pickup unit 101, and the picked up image is acquired by theimage information acquisition unit 12 as described in the thirdembodiment. The distance measurement unit 102 measures the distance fromthe measurement site of the user 25. The distance informationacquisition unit 13 acquires the result of the measured distance. Inthis embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19 , it is assumed that a targetdistance between the measurement device 100 a and the measurementsubject 1 is set to “L”.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view of correcting the measurement position asa result of displacement in the distance between the surface of themeasurement subject 1 (corresponding to the measurement site of the user25) and the measurement device 100 a. As FIG. 20A shows, if themeasurement device 100 a approaches the measurement subject 1 too closeto the measurement subject 1 with respect to the target distance L, theelectromagnetic wave irradiation position deviates from the targetirradiation position of the measurement subject 1. This applies to thecase where the measurement device 100 a moves apart from the measurementsubject 1 with respect to the target distance L as shown in FIG. 20B.

As FIGS. 20A and 20B show, a “far side” and a “near side” are defined onthe assumption that the target distance L is set as an origin. Thetarget distance L is defined as the distance between the measurementsubject 1 and the measurement device 100 a, which is set when theoptical axis of the image pickup unit 101 coincides with the positionwhere the electromagnetic wave emitted from the radio transmitter 2 isirradiated to the surface of the measurement subject 1 (corresponding tothe measurement position of the user 25).

For example, FIG. 20A shows an exemplified case where the distancebetween the measurement device 100 a and the measurement subject 1becomes longer, and the measurement position displaces to the far side.FIG. 20B shows an exemplified case where the distance between themeasurement device 100 a and the measurement subject 1 becomes shorter,and the measurement position displaces to the near side.

In the case as shown in FIG. 20A, the position of the measurementposition marker 27 may be derived from X′=|L-L′|tan θ. In the case asshown in FIG. 20B, the position of the measurement position marker 27may be derived from X″=|L-L″|tan θ. The position of the measurementposition marker 27 has to be corrected using the “X′” or “X″”. Themoving direction of the measurement device 100 a may be determined inaccordance with the codes of “X′” and “X″”.

The operation flow of the measurement device 100 a will be describedreferring to the flowchart of FIG. 21 . The main controller 4 controlsthe image pickup unit 101 to execute an image pickup step that picks upan image of the measurement position of the user 25 (S2101).

The main controller 4 controls the distance measurement unit 102 toexecute a distance measurement step that measures the distance betweenthe measurement subject 1 (corresponding to the measurement position ofthe user 25 in the third embodiment) and the measurement device 100 a(S2102).

A distance information acquisition step is executed to allow thedistance information acquisition unit 13 to acquire the result ofmeasured distance (S2103).

As described referring to FIGS. 20A and 20B, the amount of the distancedisplaced either to the “near side” or the “far side” is calculated fromthe result derived from the positions of the radio transmitter 2 and thereceiver 3 of the measurement device 100 a, and the distance obtained inS2103. A measurement position calculation step is executed forcalculating the measurement position from the amount of the displaceddistance (S2104).

The electromagnetic wave generator 7 of the radio transmitter 2 iscontrolled by the main controller 4 simultaneously with acquisition ofthe distance information in S2103, and the electromagnetic wave withemission electromagnetic wave intensity I_(in) is irradiated to the user25. A step of acquiring electromagnetic wave intensity information andpolarization information is executed for acquiring the electromagneticwave intensity information and polarization information reflected fromthe user 25 (S2105).

The absorption amount at the specific time is calculated from theacquired information as expressed by the formula 2, and the polarizationinformation is added to execute an absorption amount conversion step forconversion into the absorption amount for each polarization (S2106). Itis possible to conduct the conversion into the relative change in thewater content in comparison with the water content as the past datastored in the data storage unit 160 in S2106.

The display processing unit 15 processes the measurement position andthe results of analyzing intensity/polarization signal obtained in S2104and S2106 respectively, and the image picked up in S2101 to execute adisplay step that displays the screen as shown in FIG. 18B on thedisplay unit 16 (S2107).

The main controller 4 executes an initial learning judgement step thatjudges whether or not the current measurement corresponds to the initiallearning (S2108). S2108 is executed to acquire a reference value forobserving the change in the condition (or time) of the measurementsubject 1. The main controller 4 judges whether or not the pastmeasurement value has been stored in the data storage unit 160. If thepast measurement value is stored (S2108/YES), an information rewritingstep is executed for rewriting the information that has already beenstored in the data storage unit 160 by taking the picked up image, themeasurement value, and the analysis results of intensity/polarization,which have been acquired in S2101 to S2107 as the reference values(S2109).

Meanwhile, in S2108, if the past measurement value is not stored(S2108/NO), a storage step is executed for storing a difference betweenthe picked up image, the measurement value, and the analysis results ofintensity/polarization acquired in S2101 to S2107, and the referencevalues stored in the data storage unit 160 (S2110). The measurementvalue, and the analysis results of intensity/polarization acquired inS2101 to S2107 may be stored as a new reference values in step S2110.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments as describedabove, but includes various modifications. For example, the embodimentis described in detail for readily understanding of the presentinvention which is not necessarily limited to the one equipped with allstructures as described above. It is further possible to replace a partof the structure of one embodiment with the structure of anotherembodiment. The one embodiment may also be provided with an additionalstructure of another embodiment. It is further possible to add, remove,and replace the other structure to, from and with a part of thestructure of the respective embodiments.

The skin information acquisition terminal 103 is not limited to theterminal to be exclusively used for measuring the skin condition. Forexample, the use of a compact light source such as a resonant tunneldiode and a compact detector such as a hetero barrier diode and a carbonnanotube for the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 makes itpossible to combine the skin information acquisition terminal 103 withthe smartphone. It is also possible to add such information as date andtime, temperature and weather derived from the smartphone upon storageof the data in S2110.

Fifth Embodiment

Another embodiment of the internal measurement result display systemaccording to the present invention will be described. An expirationanalysis terminal 105 according to the embodiment is intended to measureexpiration of a human as the measurement subject. The expirationanalysis terminal has a function for analyzing the component containedin the expiration, and displaying the analysis result usingelectromagnetic waves in a contactless manner. It is known that theexpiration of the patient suffering from specific disease contains gasthat is different from the component contained in the expiration of ahealthy person. For example, the expiration of a diabetes patientcontains a large quantity of acetone. The expiration of a chronicbronchitis patient tends to contain more carbon monoxide. Theconcentration of the acetone or the carbon monoxide may be measuredusing the electromagnetic wave in the terahertz frequency band. Theexpiration analysis terminal 105 is used on the assumption that it isconfigured to emit the electromagnetic wave at the frequency suitablefor the measurement subject as described above. The water content mayalso be measured using the expiration analysis terminal 105.

FIG. 22 shows the usage of the expiration analysis terminal 105. Theexpiration analysis terminal 105 includes an expiration measurementsystem 106 that analyzes the expiration of the user 25. As FIG. 22shows, the expiration analysis terminal 105 is a portable informationprocessing terminal having a function for analyzing the componentcontained in the expiration of the user 25 exhaling toward theexpiration analysis terminal 105, and for displaying the analysis.

FIGS. 23A and 23B are views each showing an appearance of the expirationanalysis terminal 105. FIG. 23A schematically shows a side that receivesthe expiration of the user 25 to be analyzed. FIG. 23B shows the otherside on which the expiration analysis result is displayed. As FIG. 23Ashows, the expiration analysis terminal 105 has the side facing the user25, on which the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 of theexpiration measurement system 106 are disposed. The radio transmitter 2and the receiver 3 are disposed to interpose an opening of a gas passage31. The lens of the image pickup unit 101 as an incorporated camera, andthe distance measurement unit 102 are disposed on the same side.

As the image pickup unit 101 and the distance measurement unit 102 aresimilar to those described in the third embodiment, the detailedexplanations thereof, thus will be omitted. It is possible to apply, forexample, the RGB camera with sensitivity to the visible lightwavelength, and the camera with sensitivity to the infrared light to theimage pickup unit 101. It is also possible to apply the RGB camera withsensitivity to the wavelength from the infrared light to the visiblelight, from the visible light to the ultraviolet light, or from theinfrared light to the ultraviolet light via the visible light. Asdescribed above, the image pickup operation allows automatic switchingof the measurement mode between the skin and the expiration byconfirming the image. The user 25 is allowed to switch the measurementmode by himself/herself.

As FIG. 23B shows, the expiration analysis terminal 105 allows theexpiration measurement system 106 to measure the expiration component,and display the analysis result, for example, the concentration ofcarbon monoxide, acetone or the like on the display unit 16. It ispossible to display the measurement value currently measured by theexpiration measurement system 106 not only as the concentration, butalso as a gas concentration measurement result 28 on the display unit.As shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B, in order to allow the user 25 of theexpiration analysis terminal 105 to conduct the measurement whileviewing the display (for example, concentration) on the display unit 16,the expiration measurement system 106, the image pickup unit 101, andthe display unit 16 may be disposed on the same surface.

In order to give a notice on health to the user 25 who is confirming thedisplay unit 16 of the expiration analysis terminal 105 while picking upthe image, the user 25 may be notified of the current situation withsounds generated by the sound unit 161 in addition to the display of thenotice and the relevant data. In the case of deviation between theuser's sense and the measurement value, the user is allowed to set thedesired value so that the user may be notified of the notice about thelarge deviation from the set value.

FIG. 24 shows an exemplified structure of the expiration measurementsystem 106 according to this embodiment. As FIG. 24 shows, theexpiration measurement system 106 includes the radio transmitter 2 thatirradiates the electromagnetic wave suitable for the expiration as themeasurement subject, the receiver 3 that receives the electromagneticwave that has been changed under the influence of expiration, the maincontroller 4 that controls the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3,and a gas concentration measurement unit 29 that measures the prescribedgas concentration contained in the expiration based on the intensity ofthe electromagnetic wave received by the receiver 3.

The expiration measurement system 106 includes the gas passage 31 as thepassage for the expiration, and a tubular gas concentration measurementspace 32 which is communicated with the gas passage 31 andlongitudinally extends between the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver3. The gas passage 31 includes an expiration inflow passage 31 a and anexpiration exhaust passage 31 b. The inflow passage 31 a and the exhaustpassage 31 b are arranged as a pair around longitudinal ends of the gasconcentration measurement space 32. Valves 30 which are opened andclosed by an expiration flow R are disposed in openings of the inflowpassage 31 a and the exhaust passage 31 b at the far side, respectively,that is, at the locations for communication between the inflow passage31 a and the gas concentration measurement space 32, and between theexhaust passage 31 b and the gas concentration measuring space 32. Aninflow valve 30 a disposed in the inflow passage 31 a is opened inwardby inflow of the expiration. An exhaust valve 30 b disposed in theexhaust passage 31 b is opened outward while being pushed by the gasremaining inside upon inflow of the expiration to the gas passage 31.

The frequency of the electromagnetic wave emitted by the radiotransmitter 2 to be used is readily absorbable by the gas component ofthe measurement subject. For example, if the expiration as themeasurement subject is water vapor, it is preferable to set theelectromagnetic wave at the frequency of 0.56 THz and 0.75 THz.

When the user 25 blows, the breathing force pushes the inflow valve 30 ato be opened so that the expiration flows to the inside of the gaspassage 31. If the electromagnetic wave is emitted from the radiotransmitter 2 at this timing, the electromagnetic wave absorbed orattenuated by the component of the expiration is received by thereceiver 3.

FIG. 25 shows an example of an exemplary structure of the expirationanalysis terminal 105 according to the embodiment. The respective unitsof the expiration analysis terminal 105 will be described along with theconceptual process flow. Unless otherwise specified, the respectiveunits constituting the expiration analysis terminal 105 are assumed tobe controlled on the basis of signals from the system control unit 14connected to those units via the system bus 17.

The expiration measurement system 106 includes the radio transmitter 2that irradiates the electromagnetic wave to the expiration as themeasurement subject, the receiver 3 that receives the electromagneticwave that has been changed under the influence of expiration, the maincontroller 4 that controls the radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3,and the gas concentration measurement unit 29 that measures the gasconcentration of the electromagnetic wave received by the receiver 3.The radio transmitter 2 and the receiver 3 used for the expirationmeasurement system 106 may be common to those used in the measurementdevice 100 as described above. The radio transmitter 2 and the receiver3 for the expiration measurement system 106 may be separately used fromthose used for the measurement device 100.

The gas concentration measured by the expiration measurement system 106is acquired by a gas concentration information acquisition unit 33 and agas concentration value analysis unit 34. The gas concentrationinformation acquisition unit 33 acquires the gas concentrationinformation as change in the electromagnetic wave under the influence ofthe expiration of the user 25 as the measurement subject 1 as expressedby the formula 2 from the intensity ratio between the irradiatedelectromagnetic wave and the reflection electromagnetic wave. The gasconcentration value analysis unit 34 analyzes the gas concentrationinformation, and acquires the gas concentration.

The gas concentration value analysis unit 34 is capable of analyzingchange in the gas concentration of the expiration as time series dataincluding not only the measurement value at specific time but also thepast historical data by referring to the past data accumulated in thedata storage unit 160. In this case, as shown in FIG. 23 , the gasconcentration measurement result 28 may be displayed on the display unit16. In the expiration analysis terminal 105, the gas concentrationinformation acquisition unit 33, the gas concentration value analysisunit 34, the measurement information acquisition unit 11, the imageinformation acquisition unit 12, the distance information acquisitionunit 13, the measurement value analysis unit 18, the system control unit14, the sound processor of the sound unit 161, and the displayprocessing unit 15 are constituted by the processors and circuits ascomponents of the expiration analysis terminal 105. The data storageunit 160 is constituted by a memory as a component of the expirationanalysis terminal 105.

The expiration measurement system 106 measures the ratio of thereflection intensity while changing the frequency of the electromagneticwave in the prescribed range. This makes it possible to execute theprocess for specifying component of the gas from the peak frequency.Once the component of the gas is specified, the gas concentration may bemeasured.

The operation flow of the expiration analysis terminal 105 will bedescribed referring to the flowchart of FIG. 26 . The system controlunit 14 controls the image pickup unit 101 to execute an image pickupstep that picks up an image of the measurement position of the user 25(S2601).

The system control unit 14 controls the distance measurement unit 102 toexecute a distance measurement step that measures the distance betweenthe measurement position of the user 25 and the expiration analysisterminal 105 (S2602).

A distance information acquisition step is executed to allow thedistance information acquisition unit 13 to acquire the measureddistance result (S2603).

A measurement position calculation step is executed for calculating themeasurement position of the user 25 from the positions of the radiotransmitter 2 and the receiver 3 of the expiration analysis terminal105, and the result of the distance obtained in S2603 (S2604).

A measurement subject judgement step is executed for judging which ofthe gas concentration of the expiration and the skin is measured fromthe image picked up in S2601 simultaneously with execution of thedistance information acquisition step in S2603 (S2605). In S2605, if itis judged that the measurement subject is the gas (S2605/Yes), theprocess proceeds to the flow for measuring the gas concentration. If itis judged that the measurement subject is not the gas in S2605(S2605/No), the process proceeds to the flow for measuring the watercontent of the skin of the user 25.

In the flow for measuring the gas concentration, the main controller 4controls the electromagnetic wave generator 7 of the radio transmitter 2through the system control unit 14 to irradiate the emissionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(in) to the user 25. The maincontroller 4 controls the radio detector 9 of the receiver 3 to executea reception electromagnetic wave intensity acquisition step thatacquires the electromagnetic wave intensity of the electromagnetic wavethat has passed the expiration of the user 25 (S2608).

An absorbance analysis step is executed for analyzing the absorbance tocalculate the gas concentration at the specific time from the acquiredinformation as expressed by the formula 2 (S2609).

The required measurement of the carbon monoxide of the user 25 will bedescribed in detail. If the electromagnetic wave in the frequency bandranging from 10 GHz (0.1 THz) or higher to 30 THz or lower is irradiatedto the carbon monoxide, the absorption spectrum appears in the steepstate at equal intervals in the frequency band from approximately 0.4THz to 2.5 THz. Accordingly, it is possible to use the electromagneticwave at 1.5 THz to the expiration measurement system 106 as describedabove for measurement of the carbon monoxide. The use of theelectromagnetic wave ranging from 0.4 THz to 0.6 THz allows measurementof the absorption spectra of the water vapor and the carbon monoxide inthe narrow frequency range.

Compared with the past measurement value stored in the data storage unit160, it may be converted into the change in the gas concentration in theanalysis stage in S2609. The display processing unit 15 processes themeasurement position and the analysis result of the absorbance obtainedin S2604 and S2609 respectively, and the image picked up in S2601 toexecute a display step that displays the screen as shown in FIG. 23B onthe display unit 16 (S2610).

In the skin water content measurement flow, the main controller 4controls the electromagnetic generator 7 of the radio transmitter 2through the system control unit 14 to irradiate the emissionelectromagnetic wave intensity I_(in) to the user 25. The maincontroller 4 controls the radio detector 9 of the receiver 3 to acquirethe electromagnetic wave intensity information and polarizationinformation reflected from the user 25 (S2606).

The absorption amount at the specific time is calculated from theinformation acquired as expressed by the formula 2, and the polarizationinformation is added for conversion into the absorption amount for eachpolarization (S2607). In this case, the display processing unit 15processes the measurement position and the analysis results of theintensity/polarization signal obtained in S2604 and S2607 respectively,and the image picked up in S2601 to display the screen as shown in FIG.23B on the display unit 16 (S2610).

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments as describedabove, but includes various modifications. For example, the embodimentsare described in detail for readily understanding of the presentinvention which are not necessarily limited to the ones equipped withall structures as described above. It is possible to replace a part ofthe structure of one embodiment with the structure of anotherembodiment. The one embodiment may be provided with an additionalstructure of another embodiment. It is further possible to add, remove,and replace another structure to, from and with a part of the structureof the respective embodiments.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 . . . measurement subject,    -   2 . . . radio transmitter,    -   3 . . . receiver,    -   4 . . . main controller,    -   5 . . . signal processor,    -   7 . . . electromagnetic wave generator,    -   8 . . . lens,    -   9 . . . radio detector,    -   10 . . . lens,    -   11 . . . measurement information acquisition unit,    -   12 . . . image information acquisition unit,    -   13 . . . distance information acquisition unit,    -   14 . . . system control unit,    -   15 . . . display processing unit,    -   16 . . . display unit,    -   17 . . . system bus,    -   18 . . . measurement value analysis unit,    -   19 . . . communication unit,    -   20 . . . communication unit,    -   21 . . . image information analysis unit,    -   22 . . . image diagnosis unit,    -   23 . . . information integration unit,    -   25 . . . user,    -   26 . . . photo,    -   27 . . . measurement position marker,    -   28 . . . gas concentration measurement result,    -   29 . . . gas concentration measurement unit,    -   30 . . . valve,    -   31 . . . gas passage,    -   32 . . . gas concentration measurement space,    -   33 . . . gas concentration information acquisition unit,    -   34 . . . gas concentration value analysis unit,    -   40 . . . input unit,    -   90 . . . receiver element,    -   91 . . . adder    -   91 a . . . adder,    -   91 b . . . adder,    -   91 c . . . adder,    -   91 d . . . adder,    -   100 . . . measurement device,    -   100 a . . . measurement device,    -   101 . . . image pickup unit,    -   102 . . . distance measurement unit,    -   103 . . . skin information acquisition terminal,    -   104 . . . server,    -   105 . . . expiration analysis terminal,    -   106 . . . expiration measurement system,    -   160 . . . data storage unit,    -   161 . . . sound unit,    -   1031 . . . skin information acquisition terminal

1. A contactless internal measurement device comprising: anelectromagnetic wave irradiation unit that irradiates an electromagneticwave to a measurement subject; and an electromagnetic wave receiver thatdetects the electromagnetic wave reflected by the measurement subject,wherein the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit is disposed toirradiate the measurement subject with the electromagnetic wave at anincident angle to reduce an intensity of a type of a polarizationcomponent of the electromagnetic wave detected by the electromagneticwave receiver, the type of the polarization component being the same asa type of a polarization component of the electromagnetic waveirradiated by the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit, theelectromagnetic wave receiver includes a plurality of electromagneticwave detectors, the electromagnetic wave receiver is disposed to detectpolarization components in at least two directions or more, including acomponent in a polarization direction perpendicular to the samepolarization direction as the polarization direction of theelectromagnetic wave irradiated by the electromagnetic wave irradiationunit, and each of the electromagnetic wave detectors has a size equal toor shorter than a beam waist radius of a wavelength of theelectromagnetic wave irradiated by the electromagnetic wave irradiationunit.
 2. An internal measurement result display system comprising: anelectromagnetic wave irradiation unit that irradiates an electromagneticwave to a measurement subject; and an electromagnetic wave receiver thatdetects the electromagnetic wave reflected by the measurement subject,wherein the electromagnetic wave irradiation unit includes a contactlessinternal measurement device disposed to reduce a polarization componentof the electromagnetic wave detected by the electromagnetic wavereceiver, the polarization component being the same as a polarizationcomponent of the electromagnetic wave irradiated by the electromagneticwave irradiation unit, the internal measurement result display systemfurther comprising: an analysis unit that analyzes an intensity and apolarization dependence property from a signal received by theelectromagnetic wave receiver; a measurement unit that measures adistance from the measurement subject; a measurement position estimationunit that estimates a measurement position from the distance obtained bythe measurement unit; and a display unit that displays a picked up imageof the measurement subject, and the display unit displays themeasurement position estimated by the measurement position estimationunit from the distance obtained by the measurement unit together with ananalysis result of the analysis unit.
 3. The internal measurement resultdisplay system according to claim 2, further comprising an image pickupunit that picks up an image of the measurement subject.
 4. The internalmeasurement result display system according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a data storage unit that stores data relating to thedistance measured by the measurement unit, and data relating to themeasurement position estimated by the measurement position estimationunit; and an arithmetic operation unit that arithmetically operates adifference between the measurement position stored in the data storageunit and a measurement position having its image currently picked up,wherein based on a result of the arithmetic operation unit, themeasurement position is determined.
 5. The internal measurement resultdisplay system according to claim 2, further comprising: a sound unitthat notifies information relating to an estimation result of themeasurement position by utilizing a sound; and an input unit that inputsthe measurement position of the measurement subject, wherein the soundunit has a function of notifying information on a difference between themeasurement position estimated by the measurement position estimationunit from the distance obtained by the measurement unit and themeasurement position input through the input unit, by utilizing a sound.6. A contactless internal measurement method comprising: anelectromagnetic wave irradiation step that irradiates an electromagneticwave to a measurement subject; an electromagnetic wave detection stepthat detects the electromagnetic wave reflected by the measurementsubject; an analysis step that analyzes an intensity and a polarizationdependence property from a received signal; a measurement step thatmeasures a distance from the measurement subject; a measurement positionestimation step that estimates a measurement position from the distancefrom the measurement subject; and a display step that displays theestimated measurement position together with a result obtained in theanalysis step, wherein in the electromagnetic wave irradiation step, theelectromagnetic wave is irradiated to reduce a polarization component ofthe electromagnetic wave detected in the electromagnetic wave detectionstep, the polarization component being the same as a polarizationcomponent of the electromagnetic wave irradiated to the measurementsubject.
 7. The contactless internal measurement method according toclaim 6, wherein in the electromagnetic wave irradiation step, theelectromagnetic wave is irradiated to allow an incident angle to themeasurement subject to be near a Brewster angle.
 8. The contactlessinternal measurement method according to claim 6, wherein polarizationcomponents in at least two polarization directions or more are detected,including a polarization component in a direction perpendicular to thepolarization direction of the electromagnetic wave irradiated to themeasurement subject, and a polarization component different from thepolarization component in the perpendicular direction among polarizationcomponents of electromagnetic waves detected in the electromagnetic wavedetection step.
 9. The contactless internal measurement method accordingto claim 6, further comprising an image pickup step that picks up animage of the measurement subject, wherein in the display step, theestimated measurement position is displayed together with a resultobtained in the analysis step, and a picked up image of the measurementsubject.
 10. The contactless internal measurement method according toclaim 6, further comprising: a sound output step that notifiesinformation on an estimated result obtained in the measurement positionestimation step by utilizing a sound; and an input step that inputs themeasurement position of the measurement subject, wherein in the soundoutput step, a sound indicating a difference between the estimatedmeasurement position and the input measurement position is output.